1763: The Establishment of St. Louis and African Arrivals
St. Louis in the eighteenth century became a diverse city as it brought together Africans from different parts of Africa as well as from the Americas.
This cultural diversity meant that French, Spanish, and English were all spoken. Likewise while some Africans came as slaves, a number of Black people living in the region were free (and some even landowners) and counted in the 1722 census as such (Smith, p. 16).
“Race and status were not automatically joined from the beginning of the Louisiana colony.”
As historian Dale Edywna Smith noted, “[r]ace and status were not automatically joined from the beginning of the Louisiana colony” (Smith, p. 16). Thus the culture that emerged in St. Louis and attitudes toward race were far from uniform.
Map of Early Saint Louis
St. Louis was originally developed under the leadership of a French trading firm.
In 1763, the French officially gave the firm Maxent, Laclède, and Company rights to trade in the Louisiana region. Seeking a money-making venture, the St. Louis area became a designated hub for future trade given its optimal location with the meeting of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Laclede Landing at the Present Site of St. Louis, oil on canvas, Oscar Edward Berninghaus
However, what was not known by Maxent and Company is that secretly during this time the French had given the Louisiana territory to Spain as part of the settlement of the commonly known “French and Indian War” (Smith, p. 20). News of this transfer of power didn’t reach St. Louis until two years later in 1765 when the town was already under development. Despite the transfer in ownership, St. Louis remained a distinctly French city (Smith, p. 20).